HOW TO SELL QUITO
QUITO Elevated
BY ROGER ST PIERRE Quito is the world’s second highest
capital city. Typically, it’s been viewed by the travel trade as simply a jumping-off point for holidays on the wondrous Galapagos Islands. However, all that is about to change thanks to the Ecuadorian city’s elevation to the role of Capital of Culture for the Americas 2011 and a planned kaleidoscopic programme of concerts, theatrical events, art showings and festivals. South America’s best-kept secret first
felt the spotlight back in 1978 when it was designated as the first ever UNESCO World Heritage site. The setting is spectacular, cradled in a natural bowl close to 10,000 feet up in the rugged Andes mountains. That high altitude might induce some clients to fear altitude sickness, but most people experience merely a little light-headedness and can comfortably acclimatise within a day or two. They will need plenty of puff because many of the streets are precipitously steep and they’ll want to do a lot of exploring in this eminently walkable city. Despite a location almost directly on
the Equator, thanks to being nearly two miles high the climate is temperate year round. There’s a wet season, from September to April, but if the weather is rather mild and evenings downright chilly, the welcome is always warm. Quito is a prosperous, well-ordered city with a fast-rising middle class and low crime rates. It gets dark every day of the year at
6pm and dawn is always at 6am. Nightlife plays a big role in local culture. The Old City, with its grandiose
squares, imposing government buildings and wealth of churches, is a Spanish colonial gem. The newer business districts are stridently modern and feature world- class shopping and lively bars, restaurants – featuring all the great cuisines as well as enticing local fare – and cutting-edge entertainment
More Information
For more information on Quito go to
www.quito.com.ec.
58 May 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
venues. Ancient and modern sit comfortably together in a metropolis of 1.3-million.. Quito straddles the famed
Transamerica Highway and is also gateway to what the great Victorian- era German explorer Alexander Von Humboldt dubbed ‘The Avenue of the Volcanoes’. Ruggedly barren peaks and verdant
valleys abound and stately haciendas make a superb Colonial country house alternative to big city hotels, while eco-lodges are also popular, especially
in the cloud forest with its abundance of wildlife and flocks of tiny hummingbirds. The city has a very good hotel stock,
with high standards at affordable prices. Many of the major international hotel brands have a presence – including Radisson, Swissotel, JW Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Mercure and Howard Johnson. Leisure visitors might prefer one of
the many smaller, and usually superb, stylish boutique properties, with their attractive Spanish colonial architecture,
QUITO Must Do's...
• Centre of Earth – Stand at 00°, 00”, 00’ and discover whether or not the water really does go down the plughole in an opposite direction on opposing sides of the Equator
• Quito Botanical Gardens – In a haven of peace within the expansive Carolina Park, with two vast hot-houses where you can marvel at more than 500 species of orchid
• Capilla el Hombre – Discover the works of revered Ecuadorian painter and social commentator Oswaldo Guayasamin, displayed spectacularly in a magnificent post-modern hillside gallery
• Papalacts Thermal Springs Resort – Travel for two hours high into the Andes to wallow in naturally heated spa waters
• Hacienda Zuleta – Be entranced by extremely rare condors wheeling in the thermals above this wildlife refuge, set amid a vast colonial-era estate
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